The northeastern basin of Lake Ontario from Henderson Harbor to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, smallmouth bass population has long been known to be one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the nation. In the last twenty-five years the introduction of invasive species such as zebra mussels, gobies and rusty crawfish have all drastically helped the lakes smallmouth bass fishing. The zebra mussels cleaned the water of Lake Ontario allowing the smallmouth bass, which are predominately sight feeders, to hunt much more effectively. On the other hand, the gobies and crawfish both became staples in the diet of Lake Ontario smallmouth bass  population greatly increasing the weights of the fish. These environmental factors, combined with the dedication of the lakes anglers to catch and release fishing, have made Lake Ontario one of the best smallmouth bass fisheries in the world. Bassmaster Magazine ranks the best bass fishing lakes in the world every year, and Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River have now been ranked #1 for the last three years.

Often the clarity Lake Ontario offers a view that can’t be found at many other fisheries, most times you can see the rock and sand and structure you are fishing with the naked eye. This lends itself to the amazing opportunity to watch these beautiful fish while you fight them to the boat.

This area produces smallmouth bass in good numbers between 2 1/2 to 4 pounds. It also offers trophy size smallmouth bass between 5- 6 pounds.